


The Pleasure of Your Company

by FallLover



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety, Background HankCon - Freeform, Blood, Blood Drinking, Blood and Injury, Blow Jobs, Body Dysphoria, Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900 are Siblings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hank Anderson/Connor - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, RK900's name is nathan, Recreational Drug Use, Referenced Adultery, Referenced Alcohol Use, Referenced alcohol abuse, Tina Chen & Gavin Reed Friendship, past abusive relationship, terrible flirting, they agree to it beforehand but I'm marking it down just to be safe, vampire!900
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-01-04 13:44:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21198623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallLover/pseuds/FallLover
Summary: Vampire AU - Nathan's looking for a meal and some company. Gavin's looking to forget.





	1. Tasting

Nathan Stern looked over the selections of the evening at The Blood Palace, one of the nicer vampire-centered clubs he’d visited for an evening meal. Membership was pricy for the vampires, but he had some spare cash, and shared the membership with Connor and Hank to offset it.

Nathan was dressed neatly in a comfortable, well-cut suit. It looked intimidating, but was easy to slip out of it. Connor called it one of his “fuck suits”, because, well. Nathan rolled his eyes at the name, but it was true. It brought results.

Unfortunately the pickings tonight seemed a bit… bland. Elijah had said the town was in a more festive mood as Halloween neared, which meant more people were out and about, but still. Clearly it was all the normal and boring extras. He paged through the list of tonight’s menu on his phone – kept updated by the club. And protected by the club owner’s excellent security software.

Still, he hadn’t found anything interesting yet. He glanced at the nearby bar and perused those sitting again. There wasn’t much. Someone he’d sampled before and didn’t care to go back to. A couple making out by the wall. A committed pair waiting for their mistress to show up. And a vampire trying to entice an unclaimed human.

The human apparently had enough and turned away. The vampire – younger than Nathan by about a decade – huffed and actually stormed off after a minute. Nathan smiled and thought the human’s profile looked all right, so he looked the man up.

Gavin Reed. B-positive. Clean. No drugs. Didn’t smoke. No alcoholism, but did drink for pleasure. No history of former claims. And… his preferences seemed to align with Nathan’s, so that was a good sign. Nathan put his phone away and walked over, sitting in the seat next to the human.

Gavin looked at him. Nathan thought the nose scar was a pleasant touch on that olive skin. Face in a bit of a grimace that faded away once Gavin realized Nathan wasn’t the spurned vampire from before. Gavin sized him up and quirked an eyebrow at him.

“…You want something?” he demanded.

Nathan raised an eyebrow. “The unclaimed brand you’re wearing seems to indicate _you _want something.” All humans in the club – save staff – had to wear one, to mark their status. It told vampires what the humans were there for, helped avoid fights, and ultimately protected both sides from the dangers of feeding. Walking around unclaimed and otherwise unoccupied meant you wanted someone to come up to you and sample, at the least.

“Well… yeah.” Gavin sighed. “I just figured vampires would have better pick-up lines or something.”

“What were you hoping for?”

“I dunno.” Gavin frowned. “Isn’t it your job to entice me or something? If I thought up the pick-up lines, too, I might as well just stay home with some lube.”

Nathan snorted. “I gather my predecessor was just as bad or worse?”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “Worse. And unattractive.”

"Are you implying that I’m attractive?”

“…Maybe.”

Nathan smiled and placed his left hand on Gavin’s right one, which sat on the countertop. Gavin flinched slightly, but didn’t pull away.

“The feeling’s mutual. I’m Nathan. And you?”

“Gavin. You uh… you didn’t look me up? I thought you got like some sort of chart or something…?”

“I looked you up, but I was trying to be _enticing_.”

Gavin snorted.

Nathan liked him with a slight smile on his face. And he seemed okay, personality-wise, so far. Nathan wanted to see more. “So what do you do for a living?”

Gavin smiled. “I’m a cop. Detective. You?”

“Computer programmer.”

Gavin guffawed. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. Have the degree and everything. Been with my company for… 40 years now?”

“Fucking hell. Of _course_.”

“Of course what?”

“I just… I don’t know. Maybe you own a castle somewhere and lure unsuspecting idiots in to eat them or something.”

“Castles are expensive and difficult to maintain, and the connectivity in them is questionable at the best of times. Plus, I don’t _eat_ people. That would be a waste of time and effort.”

“That sounded rehearsed. People often prejudicial blowhards to you?”

“My, is that self-awareness? They say it’s the first step to recovery.”

Gavin grinned. “Don’t accuse me of self-awareness. It’d ruin my reputation and hurt my feelings.”

Nathan laughed. “Wow that was… bad.”

“Yeah. Gets em every time. As you can tell by my striking out three times earlier.”

“Oh? I thought you told my predecessor to get lost, not the other way around?”

“I didn’t say I was bad in the same way _every time_. Consistency is also not one of my faults.”

“Their loss,” Nathan replied. “What are your other faults?”

“I’m a bit buzzed,” Gavin confided. He coughed. “But uh… I guess I’ve held out long enough. Wanna… go somewhere else? Wherever it is you go?”

“Giving in already? After your spiel?”

Gavin shrugged. “You’re like the fourth person to try to talk with me, and the only one who’s good-looking and not a bore. I figure it’s now or never.”

“My. Popular, aren’t we?” Nathan teased.

Gavin’s smile slipped a bit and he looked back at his drink.

“What’s wrong?”

“Heh. Nothing.” Up close, Nathan could see the bags under his eyes, how his shoulders sagged ever so slightly. The jacket looked well taken care of, but it was worn. He didn’t wear any rings, and Nathan couldn’t spot any ring tan lines. There was something familiar about him, too, but Nathan couldn’t place it. He certainly hadn’t met the man before.

Gavin was exhibiting a mix of overconfidence and resignation. Likely covering for insecurity. Nathan wanted to know more, but if Gavin was already acquiescing… maybe he’d be more open once they’d moved on with things. Nathan tilted his head. “So… public or private? Which do you prefer?”

“Private.”

Nathan smiled again, took his hand, and pulled him away towards one of the private rooms. The crowd was heavier since they’d started talking, but people moved aside for Nathan. He just had that kind of energy. The extra height helped. Nathan never lost Gavin.

Once they were inside the room – Nathan checked it out under his account and locked it - he pushed Gavin against the door and startled nuzzling his neck. Gavin tilted his head back and shivered.

“Why’s a cop come to a vampire club, offering himself up?” Nathan asked against Gavin’s skin.

“I uh… I heard…” Gavin swallowed. “Friend told me the venom of a bite is kind of, uh… a drug? Relaxing or something?”

“Yes.” Nathan had only been bitten once, but he recalled the experience strongly, and had been with enough humans during feeding to get an affirmation on the opinion.

“Yeah… I wanted to try it.”

“Adventurous are we?”

“Maybe,” Gavin replied as Nathan pulled the human's jacket off, then encouraged Gavin to take his shirt off by lightly tugging at the bottom with a raised eyebrow. Gavin hesitated at the shirt. It was a generic t-shirt. Gavin definitely hadn’t dressed up to come here. Not that Nathan thought he needed to with the way the slightly too-small shirt framed his torso and how his legs looked in those tight jeans.

“Is… do I really need to take it off?” Gavin asked.

“If it makes you uncomfortable, then no,” Nathan said. “I can try to be careful. But I don’t want to get blood on your shirt." He shrugged. "It happens. You could clean it, but it’s annoying.”

“Mm…” Gavin pulled the shirt off and tossed it aside. He didn’t look at Nathan, but leaned back against the door.

Nathan could see various scars around Gavin’s chest, and assumed that was the basis of the self-consciousness. Still, the musculature was appealing, too, and Nathan rubbed Gavin’s left arm as he leaned back in, lightly rubbing his teeth over Gavin’s neck.

“Do you have any preferences for bite areas?” Nathan asked. “It’s not in your file. The neck can be rather painful. Normal places are also your arm, your thighs…”

Gavin swallowed. “Uh… neck’s fine.”

Nathan put his hand out, where his brand was located on his palm – currently inert and brown. “We have to touch hands to connect the spell.”

“Oh.” Gavin reached out with his hand. Nathan pressed their palms together for a minute. When they pulled apart about a minute later, the brands glowed glue.

“Lovely,” Nathan said. “That means it worked.”

“Yeah I…” Gavin swallowed. “They said that should happen.”

Nathan smiled and leaned in, lightly grabbing Gavin’s hair and using it to tug his head to the side slightly. He wrapped his other hand around Gavin’s left arm. “Good.” He could feel how tense Gavin was. “Just relax, Gavin.” He knew it wouldn’t work, but it was a mood builder of its own.

Gavin hmphed.

“Also, about sex…?”

“Huh?”

“Do you want this to go any further than the biting? Your form says your preferences, but I just want to double-check, since you’re new.”

“God you really read that stupid fucking form…”

Nathan smiled. “Of course. But back to the point – arousal is pretty normal for a bite, but consent is questionable at best. I can just leave it at a bite if you want.”

“…You seriously want to fuck me?”

“I’d be amenable to it. You’re rather attractive. And I get more… _into_ things, after a meal.”

Gavin snorted. “I… yeah. Sure. We can fuck after you bite me.” He frowned. “But you got like… stuff in here or something? You’re not fucking me dry.”

Nathan pulled the lube he kept in one of his pockets out to show Gavin, then put it back. He pulled his collar back slightly to show his ‘safe sex’ spell. “I get it checked and refreshed as needed every week or so,” Nathan continued as Gavin looked it over. Nathan had spotted Gavin’s, located near his right hipbone. They were requirements to get into the club, but if it helped make Gavin more comfortable when he was still tense, it was only a few extra seconds.

“Same. Friend’s a witch, so.”

“Excellent.” Nathan let go of his collar, leaned back in, and opened his mouth. He let his fangs sharpen slightly before he bit down.

Gavin flinched hard, but the venom on Nathan’s teeth was fast-acting, and Gavin calmed down quickly, sagging against the door and Nathan’s hold.

Nathan tightened his grip on Gavin’s hair. He had to admit the human tasted good. Nathan had fed recently, so he didn’t have to let the protective brand they’d connected earlier to kick in to push him away. He finally pulled his teeth out and licked up the traces around the bite, licking over the wound afterward to help it heal faster.

Gavin was pretty much fully supported by Nathan at this point. Nathan pulled away a bit to look at the human. Gavin’s expression was blissed out and dopey.

“That felt… weird as shit,” Gavin said.

“Hurt too much?”

“At the beginning I think but… I don’t know. Kind of floaty, now.” Gavin blinked and his smile widened. “You’re really hot.”

Nathan laughed. “Good to know.”

Gavin leaned forward and kissed Nathan on the lips. Nathan leaned into it, easily taking charge.

Nathan pulled them over to the bed and pushed Gavin over onto his back. Gavin flopped down with a slight “oomph!” but didn’t try to get away.

Nathan reached forward and started working on Gavin’s jeans. He undid the belt and fly and pulled them down and off, with Gavin lightly kicking to help. Gavin’s boxers quickly followed and Nathan got on the bed and straddled the human, sinking down to kiss him hard.

Gavin reached out to briefly touch Nathan’s hips, but his arm flopped over.

Nathan pulled away, breathing heavily and letting Gavin gasp for air.

“Want to touch you,” Gavin breathed. “But it’s… hard. M’arms feel all noodly.”

“It’s all right. Part of it’s the venom. Part of it’s blood loss. It’s all right. I can work with it.”

Gavin smiled at him, and Nathan could see the trust. Likely mostly venom-induced, but still.

Nathan leaned down for another kiss as his hand wandered down to lightly brush Gavin’s half-hard cock.

Gavin mumbled into Nathan’s mouth. Nathan broke the kiss and moved down Gavin’s chest, layering kisses over his chest, before he nosed Gavin’s cock and thigh.

Gavin shivered and lightly gripped the blanket.

Nathan didn’t waste time and wrapped his lips around Gavin’s cock, swallowing him down.

Gavin moaned as Nathan went to town. His legs twitched around Nathan, but he was still too blissed out to do much. When Gavin was fully hard, Nathan pulled off. He pulled some lube out of one of his jacket pockets, then dropped both it and the jacket on the bed. He quickly shrugged out of his pants and shirt, then pushed Gavin’s legs apart so Nathan could kneel between them. He lubed up his fingers and pressed them between Gavin’s cheeks, rubbing his hole.

Gavin threw his head back and mumbled incoherently.

“The weird thing about the venom,” Nathan said, thoughtfully, “Is that it simultaneously dulls and emphasizes. I imagine that this feels _really_ good.” Nathan massaged the muscle until he could push one finger in.

Gavin twitched at the intrusion.

“Relax, darling,” Nathan ordered.

Gavin melted at the words, and Nathan shortly put a second finger in, stretching and rubbing. By the time he had a third finger, even Gavin in his dazed state was pushing down onto Nathan’s fingers.

Nathan finally pulled out, making Gavin grumble. Nathan lubed up his cock, and didn’t bother with fanfare. Not that Gavin would have been cognizant enough to notice. Nathan lined himself up and pushed in.

“Nnn!” Gavin cried out as Nathan slowly fucked his way into the other man.

“You’re so _warm_,” Nathan purred, leaning down to press kisses against Gavin’s collarbone. When he finally bottomed out, he groaned.

“Feels… good?” Gavin commented or asked, Nathan was unsure.

“Yes,” Nathan replied. “And you?”

“Fanfucktastic.”

Nathan laughed and started up an easy pace. As he sped up, he took Gavin’s cock in his hand and rubbed the saliva-coated skin.

Gavin cried out when he finally came, before sagging back into the mattress.

Nathan increased his pace when he was able to go deeper, and came shortly afterward, pulling Gavin’s thighs tightly to his side.

When Nathan was finished, he pulled out and sagged down on the bed to Gavin.

Gavin was breathing deeply and clearly close to sleep, but he turned his head towards Nathan, smiling dazedly. “That was good.”

Nathan smiled and pulled him over. “Go to sleep, Gavin.”

* * *

Nathan woke to Gavin moving slightly. Nathan opened his eyes to see the human blink in confusion at him. Gavin smiled briefly, then his eyes widened in alarm. Gavin yanked away and turned onto his other side, putting his head in his hands.

“No, no, no, no!”

“Gavin?” Nathan asked. He could see Gavin shaking. “What’s wrong?”

“No! It’s… Fuck… It was _better_! I know it was!”

“What are you talking about?” Nathan asked, genuinely confused.

“It didn’t… It didn’t change anything. It’s just _worse_…”

Nathan reached over and rolled Gavin over. The human was crying and shaking heavily, clutching at his skin. Nathan realized what this probably was.

“Gavin, this is perfectly normal after a session. It’s all right. Let me order you something to drink and eat.” He reached over to the nightstand and grabbed his phone, before coming back. “Are you okay with some fruit? Maybe some tea or something?”

Gavin didn’t respond, shutting his eyes and turning away again.

Nathan ordered some hopefully helpful foods before he put the phone down and leaned back over Gavin. “Hey, come on, talk to me. You did so well. _So _well. I had a lovely time.”

Nathan finally got Gavin to uncover his face. The human was still crying profusely. His eyes were still shut. “It was all gone…”

“What was gone?”

Gavin laughed. “Ugh… Everything… My crap job I’ll probably lose, my crap relationship with my only friend and my crap relationship with my brother, my ex…” He laughed again. “All of it was whited out and I was… happy. I forgot. I haven’t felt like that in… I don’t know.”

“Euphoria,” Nathan explained. “It’s not quite… Well…”

“But it was _gone_…” Gavin repeated. “It was _gone_…” He sounded so broken.

“I’m sorry, Gavin,” Nathan said, pulling the human close. “This… It’s not going to fix those things.” He was used to people with baggage showing up. Like any drug, it enticed people who wanted to forget. But… “It was always only temporary.” And like most things, it made the come down harder.

Nathan held Gavin tightly, even when staff dropped off his order by the door. Nathan eventually coaxed Gavin up and against the pillows while Nathan went to fetch the food. Gavin was staring at his hands in his lap, his expression defeated.

“Eat something for me?” Nathan asked, holding up the plate.

Gavin considered and finally took one grape, popping it into his mouth and chewing slowly, staring desolately at the bedspread. Nathan noted his reservations about being shirtless seemed completely forgotten, which was a nice change, but it was all likely due to the emotional roller coaster still going through him. Nathan sat on the bed next to him and picked up some blueberries, leaving the plate between them. He opened one of the drinks and swallowed it down, offering the other one to Gavin. Gavin reluctantly took it, opened it, and drank some, before capping it and placing it aside.

“The staff here are pretty good,” Nathan commented, trying to get somewhere, anywhere. “Anything you need – within reason – you can get it.”

After Gavin ate a piece of watermelon, he wiped his eyes and said, “Sorry you had to see that.” He was still shaky and hiding it badly.

“It’s not a problem,” Nathan replied. “Like I said, it’s normal. Plenty of people come here to forget. Unfortunately it’s not a great solution. Or at least a permanent one. Well… there are the permanent thralls who basically just live between meals and getting bitten, blissed out of their minds, usually forgetting everything but who’s using them and how to take orders. It’s… not something I’d choose, but it’s a choice people can make.”

Gavin smiled humorously. “Yeah I… I’m not quite there yet.”

Nathan patted Gavin’s shoulder.

“Most people would’ve left when I… when I lost it,” Gavin added.

“Well fuck those people. You needed support. I wanted to give it, and you were owed. You gave me your blood, after all, and let me fuck you.”

Gavin snorted and flushed slightly, not meeting Nathan’s gaze. “You know, when I heard about this I imagined… I don’t know… Something less like a resort with a fancy dream hook-up.” He looked around. “I mean this is nicer than some of the hotels I’ve stayed in those times I actually got to stay somewhere decent. And then there’s… you know… you.”

Nathan smiled. “I do hope I’ve exceeded your expectations, particularly after the wonky start.”

“Ha. Yeah. Easily.” Gavin swallowed. “I just… It’s been harder lately. A lot harder. To deal with… everything. I needed an out. But something that wasn’t obscenely dangerous.”

“Ah yes,” Nathan deadpanned. “I can see why a vampire was the perfectly harmless answer.”

“Ah fuck off.” Gavin playfully nudged Nathan’s shoulder. “It’s… There are worse alternatives, you know? And at least I can’t be fired for this.”

“Do you want to talk about any of it? The things that bother you?”

Gavin blinked and looked at him. “I’ve already blabbered too much. Why?”

“Well we are already naked. Can’t get much more intimate than this, and you should take some more time to rest and recover.”

Gavin sighed. “It’s just… I’m a bit of a dick and it’s getting back to me. Always had trouble making friends. My best friend and I… She’s my only friend, really… She started dating. And that’s awesome. I want her to be happy. I am happy that she’s happy. But I just… feel left behind. And the isolation… It’s shit. She’s busier. Doing more shit. So I’m a bit sharper now and she’s holding her own against my crap and that’s great. But I think I’ll probably end up alone soon.”

“And your brother?”

“…I’d rather not.”

“Ah. Your ex, then?”

“Hah. He… He got bored. Wanted to see other people. I asked him to stay, I was so… But he left. They always leave. I moved here for one of them, you know? Turns out he was cheating on me. Some detective I am. I didn’t even see it.” He sighed again. “Just a lot of whiny crap, really.”

“I don’t think it’s whiny.”

“Yeah? What’s your story, then?”

“Hmm… My brother was sired about 40 years ago? Then he turned me. And I’ve been around ever since.”

“That can’t be all there is.”

“Well I could talk to you about this website I redesigned the other day because the company was too fucking cheap to hire a full team of people to design the original one and seemed to have just farmed it out to an intern who wasn’t even in the IT field…”

Gavin guffawed. “I just can’t… You’re really a vampire programmer?”

“One of the best.” Nathan preened.

“Jeez.”

“Something wrong?”

“Naw. Just… well… Bit anticlimactic?”

“I aim to impress.”

“You’re so corny. Hot as fuck, but corny.”

Nathan flashed a grin, then leaned back. “Would you do this again with me? You taste good and I like you. I think we get along okay.”

“And the sex had no bearing on that, right?”

“Quite the opposite. The sex was good. I’d love to do more when you’re fully cognizant.”

Gavin guffawed. Then he looked at Nathan when Nathan didn’t join in. “Wait you’re fucking serious? You want to meet again?”

“I am very serious, and yes.”

Gavin blinked, then shrugged. “Yeah, sure. If this is a prank I’ll totally like… stab you or something.”

Nathan raised an eyebrow. “I hope that wasn’t a threat.”

“Ah… well… I just… have a bad history with pranks. Being the victim of them, anyway. It’s dumb.”

“What happened?”

“It’s really dumb.”

“If it bothers you a lot I don’t think so. But I’m happy to hear it.”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “Look, people don’t… they’re not _interested_ in me okay? It’s just not a thing.”

“I don’t see why. Unless it’s the prickly personality.”

“Yeah that’s most of it, I guess.”

“Well I like you, including your prickles. And your prick.” Nathan laughed. “You’re right, I am corny.”

Gavin laughed. “God that was awful. I think I have to leave because of that.”

“Aww…” Nathan picked up a grape and popped it into his mouth.

Gavin pulled his legs up and crossed them. “Could you just… pretend you didn’t hear that ridiculous self-deprecating spiral, though? It’s… dumb.”

“Gavin, really, it’s okay.”

“Hah. You’re really understanding but honestly it just makes me think you’re playing for something. Most guys—”

“I’m not most guys. I want to get to know you and you’re not… turning me off, much as you may think you are. I’d still like to see you again.”

“…For blood.”

“And sex,” Nathan replied with a grin. “And conversation. Not necessarily in that order.”

“Heh.”

“I would also like to mark you as taken. That way others wouldn’t or at least shouldn’t bother you while you’re here.”

“What? Why?”

“I don’t like sharing.” Nathan smiled at him, as shark-like as he could make it.

Gavin scratched his nose. “Well then what’s the point of coming here?”

“Well I don’t own anyone yet. I usually sample. Haven’t found anyone who… fits. You I like.”

“Ha. Really? My blood tastes that good?”

“I’ve already told you multiple times. If you don’t want to come back or be marked more, that’s fine. I understand.”

Gavin scratched his head. “So you want to keep seeing each other. Like a weird form of hook-up dating.”

“I guess…?”

“How about we just do a normal… outside person date thing, then?”

“Ah, I know all about outside-person-date-things.”

“Stop making fun of me, it’s… been a while, okay?”

Nathan smiled and nudged Gavin back. He could tell Gavin was still very nervous. “You want to date me?”

“I don’t know. I barely know you. You seem… nice. Too good to be true. I dunno.”

“Hmm… what did you have in mind?”

Gavin blinked, then scratched his hair. “I… uh…”

“It doesn’t have to be fancy,” Nathan said with a smile. “I’m very open to things.”

“Uh…” Gavin didn’t want to say that he had no fucking clue what to do. He was used to hook-ups in bars or through apps, not… seeing someone regular in any sort of fashion. The half-decent coffee place he usually went to with Tina probably wasn’t a brilliant idea. Movies were some normal date activity, but what if Nathan hated the movie? What if they had limited time together and most of it was spent in silence, watching a movie that Nathan hated, and that was the last impression Nathan had? Gavin knew this wasn’t going to go anywhere, really, but ending it _that_ fast wasn’t something he particularly wanted.

Maybe it was better to just do the club thing. That way Gavin would hopefully have less chance to talk or plan things that could go wrong.

“How about a corn maze?” Nathan offered.

“What?”

“A corn maze. There’s one I usually go to that’s about an hour away. And I need to pick up a pumpkin or two, anyway.”

“You do stuff like that?”

“All vampire computer programmers do that. It’s part of the contract you sign when you join up.”

“God you are so ridiculous.” Gavin shook his head. “Sure, fine. Corn maze. Pumpkin picking. Whatever.” He was relieved. Probably Nathan thought he was too slow to think up things anyway. “What day works for you?”

“How about… next Saturday morning? Early starts are best.”

“Good thing vampires don’t actually burn in sunlight, huh?”

“But if you throw glitter at us, we _do_ sparkle.”

Gavin snorted and pushed himself off the bed, moving to his clothes. “I should probably head out. I have a night shift tomorrow.” He pulled his phone out of his pants to check the time. “Fuck. Today. Need to catch up on my sleep.”

“Hope it goes well.” Nathan scribbled on the complimentary notepad on the nightstand that seemed by divine law to exist in every hotel in existence, even just private bedrooms at a vampire club. He leaned out and handed the number to Gavin. “Text me? Or I’ll bother the owner about you to the point that he’ll contact you. We’re friends.”

Gavin laughed. “Wow, you must really like the way I taste.”

Nathan licked his lips and Gavin swallowed, quickly pulling on his pants. He entered the number into his phone and sent a quick cat emoji to it. Nathan’s phone buzzed and he looked at it. “Aww. Cute. Even with the prickles.”


	2. A Light to See You By

“I still don’t get how you have like a normal car,” Gavin said as he leaned back in the passenger seat in Nathan’s rather generic looking vehicle. It wasn’t ugly or dirty or The Literal Worst. Just kind of normal. Newish. Of course Nathan looked ridiculously attractive in the driver's seat and his comfortable, fluffy jacket and just his everything. Meanwhile, Gavin felt and assumed he looked like roadkill after another round of overtime.

“Do you often run into vampires that have _irregular_ cars?” Nathan asked as they drove along to the corn maze.

“Naw. Vampires are just normal people, really. So some have shit cars, some have nice cars. I just… kind of expected…”

“Me to be different?” Nathan said with a smile and a glance at Gavin before focusing back on the road.

Gavin coughed and looked back out the window. “I guess.”

They mostly listened to random music on Nathan’s phone while driving. Gavin occasionally talked about how his week had been, with Gavin asking questions about Nathan’s life, which Nathan was happy to answer. He was talking about Connor’s last birthday party when he noticed that Gavin had fallen asleep halfway to their destination. Nathan let him. He was happy the other man felt comfortable falling asleep around him.

When they finally reached the farm, Nathan lightly shook Gavin’s shoulder to wake him.

“Hmnuh?” Gavin blinked and looked around. “…Oh.”

Nathan got out of the car and they walked to the entrance.

Gavin had his hands in his pockets, and Nathan led them around to one of the buildings with the little stores in it. He grabbed them both some apple cider and handed one to Gavin.

“Uh… you didn’t have to… Thanks.” Gavin drank his cider, smiling slightly. Nathan liked his little secret smile. Maybe Connor would say he was falling too hard and fast, but still. Nathan wanted to look at this positively. He wanted to have a good time. Maybe he and Gavin wouldn’t get a lot more dates. Maybe something terrible would happen. But for now they lived in that world of starting to date, and that was a place where Nathan was hopeful about their future.

Gavin insisted on paying for the maze tickets, although Nathan took the flag. Gavin was ready to protest _that_, until Nathan easily flipped it around with a grin on his face.

“…Okay. Fine.”

They waited for a family to go in, then headed off into the maze.

“…We’re lost, aren’t we?” Gavin eventually asked, glaring at the large six-way intersection. They’d watched a group of children run down one path. Another couple down another. They could see other flags from a distance in the maze, and hear voices from far off, but that was no help.

“I believe we are,” Nathan said, surveying their options. He knew the place was supposed to look sort of like a dragon, but that didn’t help things.

Gavin sighed. “Great.”

“You’re a detective, aren’t you?” Nathan teased, hoping humor might deflate some of the anger. “Can’t you figure it out?”

“Last I checked, this wasn’t a _crime scene_. If I need to find my way through a city, that’s what a GPS is for. We must have misplaced the blood stains, fingerprints, eyewitnesses, cameras, or other useful information for me to figure out how to solve the case.”

Nathan put up a hand. “All right, all right. Sorry.”

Gavin rolled his eyes. “Well… let’s try this one, I guess.” He marched to one path at seemingly random. It turned out to be a dead end. Gavin stared at the wall and sighed.

Nathan studied him for a bit, thinking over the past 40 minutes they’d been wandering around. “You hate this, don’t you?” he finally asked.

Gavin blinked and looked at him, shocked. “No, I… I don’t hate it. Why do you think…?”

“You’ve been annoyed ever since we walked in here. On edge.”

“I… I’m just not a morning person and…” Gavin swallowed, rubbing the back of his neck. “And I… I’m just nervous, I guess. I don’t do dates a lot, like I said. I already… I mean I fell asleep in the car, I figured you were getting fed up, if anything…”

“What? No, of course not.” Gavin still looked miserable., which made Nathan regret asking the question “Gavin, I promise, I’m not… I like this. I’ve been craving apple cider for over a month and the weather’s great, and the patch still seems to be pretty full, and the maze has gone decently well up until now, so…” He looked at Gavin thoughtfully. “And I like spending time with you.”

“Yeah, I can only imagine I’m a thrilling maze companion.” Gavin rolled his eyes.

“Well as companions go, I actually think so. Last year I was here with my brother and his boyfriend. _That_ was a mistake. They spent half the time arguing and half of it making out in the corn. It was ridiculous.”

Gavin snorted. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope.”

“…Isn’t that uncomfortable?”

“What, the arguing or the making out in the corn?”

Gavin laughed. “Dude, there’s like… kids around, come on.”

“Afraid we’ll be overheard?” Nathan smiled, and his smile widened when he noted that Gavin was starting to blush. Nathan stepped closer to Gavin, half-cornering him against the dead end. “I can’t say that it’d be a bad thing… The things I’ve love to do to you…”

Gavin swallowed, reached out, then pulled his hand away. “Seriously, there are kids around, not doing this.” Gavin snuck out from under Nathan’s arm. “Come on, let’s try a different path. One the kids took and didn’t come back from.”

Nathan shot him a lascivious smile that made Gavin duck his head and dart away. Nathan quickly followed.

* * *

“…I got us out,” Gavin said, staring out the exit of the maze.

Nathan raised an eyebrow as he walked out. “Yes, you did.”

“It was _guessing_,” Gavin said, quickly catching himself. “Just… just guessing.”

“Well, you have a good sense for guesswork, then.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment or an insult.”

“Me neither. Want some smores?”

“Fuck yes.”

They dropped off their flag, took a stroll through the food on offer, and finally ended up in the pumpkin patch.

“So do you like… dress up? For Halloween?” Gavin asked, following along as Nathan looked through the pumpkins for things only he seemed aware of.

“Sometimes. Depends on my mood. Last year I did, for the trick-or-treaters.”

“What’d you wear?”

“A red cape and fake fangs.” He grinned and Gavin rolled his eyes.

“You did _not_. …Did you?”

“No,” Nathan laughed. “I wore a Gandalf costume and pretended I was a dummy on my brother’s porch. Scared a bunch of kids. It was great.”

“Nice.”

Nathan knelt down to give one large pumpkin an inspection. “What about you? Do you dress up?”

“Naw… no reason to. No one comes by my apartment, so…”

“What about parties?”

“Don’t have an invite to any.”

Nathan glanced up to see Gavin looking around at the pumpkins, thoughtfully.

“I usually just marathon a bunch of Halloween cartoons and munch on Reese’s and pizza. It’s pretty chill, unless I’m on shift.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“You should try it sometime. Although honestly I’d love to pretend to be a dummy and scare some people. Never really had the opportunity, though. Plus, sounds like too much work.”

“Mostly it’s a lot of sitting,” Nathan said, marking his pumpkin down and leading them back to the attendant. “I had my phone charging so I could listen to music in between trick-or-treaters. It was cold, too.”

“Do all _that_ and miss rewatching “Hocus Pocus”? No thanks.”

Nathan laughed. “I _love_ that movie.”

“Who doesn’t?”

* * *

They were strapped back into Nathan’s car and heading back into the city, with two large pumpkins, several baby pumpkins, and a big bag of kettle corn for Gavin in the back.

“You sure you’re not thirsty?” Gavin asked. “It’s been a long day.”

“I can last for the drive.”

Gavin swallowed and fiddled with his jacket a bit. “You wanna… stop by my place before you leave?”

Nathan glanced at him. “You mean after I drop you off?”

“Yeah, just… step in for a bit, I guess.”

Nathan smiled. “I’d love to.”

* * *

Nathan licked up the blood from Gavin’s neck, pressing his arms into the couch. He was mostly lying on top of Gavin from where they’d ended up after entering the apartment and starting a pseudo-makeout fest that ended with Gavin reminding Nathan he was probably hungry, and Nathan being all too happy to take advantage of the offer when Gavin lowered his collar.

Gavin was breathing slowly as Nathan pulled back. Gavin peeked up at him and said, quietly, “Fuck that’s…”

“How are you feeling?” Nathan asked.

“Floaty. Tired.”

Nathan frowned. “We did do a lot today. Maybe this wasn’t—”

“It’s fine. Think I just wanna have a nap. Been a long week.”

“…All right, but I’m going to wake you up if you take too long. I want to make sure you’re all right.”

“Kay…” Gavin shut his eyes and Nathan climbed off, moving to sit on the floor and watch him.

Nathan had enjoyed the day. Despite his egging on Gavin earlier making Gavin get even angrier, they'd had fun. Or at least Nathan thought so. Nathan hoped that boded well.

* * *

_Elijah: Saw you visited the club. What’d you think?_

_Gavin: Was pretty cool. Neat place._

_Elijah: You meet someone?_

Gavin hadn’t replied to that. He was nervous. Telling someone else about Nathan felt… it felt too much like making it official, which would make it more crushing if it was nothing. And telling his brother, of all people… that was bad. It was the first conversation they’d had in nearly a year. Gavin didn’t want to ruin it.

_Gavin: Maybe._

_Elijah: Good._

Gavin felt like he was on tenterhooks all day when Nathan picked him up. He shouldn’t have nodded off in the car on the way there, but he hadn’t expected to do overtime the previous day, and felt like someone had punched him in the face all morning. He didn’t even remember nodding off. Just waking up and truly embarassed about it. Thankfully Nathan didn’t say anything, but still.   
  
He was interested in the corn maze farm and all the stuff it had on offer. The way Nathan seemed to gravitate to everything was... rather cute. Nathan was cute. Hot. Way better than what Gavin was used to. Gavin struggled with the conversation. Tried to remember all the stuff the self-help books had taught him. He focused on Nathan and trying to be sure that Nathan was having a good time and Gavin wasn’t too much of a drag. Nathan seemed to make it easy to keep conversation going, but that made Gavin nervous about how he was measuring up. Not well, he imagined.  
  
He was happy he’d come, but still nervous that he’d taken the day off. He kept expecting his work phone to vibrate, and didn’t know whether the fact that it didn’t was good or bad. When he got home he’d work on more paperwork. That’s what he’d do. Maybe see if he could pick up a late shift. He decided on that before Nathan picked him up.  
  
Gavin hadn’t messaged Tina about Nathan yet. He’d been nervous to. Tina was focused on her new girlfriend and seemed pretty happy, for all she and Gavin weren’t speaking, really. Well he'd sent her a "Hey, how are things with you?" when he went into came in for work the other day, and she'd eventually sent a brief update about what was going on for her, which Gavin had said sounded great, and then they were back to radio silence, and Gavin knew they were probably still in the shitter, after him avoiding her all the time and working in his spare time and everything and just general being a shit. Sure, she wasn't working for the DPD anymore, but... he could try more to see her. It would be nice if she was more response, but she didn't _owe _him her time.

And he wasn’t telling Chris. Chris was too stressed about his new baby.  
  
The day out with Nathan distracted him so much, mixed in with all the things he was trying to focus on, that he could almost entirely forget to think about Frank, which was nice.

Unfortunately, that meant that when he remembered, it was like being hit by a train.

Frank never would have picked Gavin up for a date like this. Frank didn’t have time for this stuff. Frank would have found it too banal and childish. Plus, Frank was even more of a workaholic than Gavin. That had been one of the main reasons Frank just preferred to have nights in, which usually just meant dinner (delivery) and sex. They saw each other so rarely after all. Why waste time?  
  
And so maybe Gavin was always nervous that Frank would think he was too much work and move onto someone else, and Gavin had waited too long to say that not having a private life outside the sex was stifling, but still. Maybe Gavin tried to always be available because it had been a while since his last fling and he wanted to do this right. They were both busy. Gavin could read while he waited, or watch TV or something.  
  
Gavin should have figured it out, though. That Frank was cheating. It felt like a kick in the pants the day Frank showed up to Gavin’s place and started kissing him and Gavin, feeling around, had touched Frank’s finger and found a ring there. A very specific kind of ring. It shouldn’t have hurt so much. The odd decisions on meetups. The fact they seldom stayed at “Frank’s place”, which turned out to be where he took all his hook-ups when his wife was busy. She had no idea about the apartment.  
  
Frank had said Gavin should stick around for the sex. After all, where was Gavin going to get better? It’s not like Gavin had much on tap. It’s not like people were asking for Gavin’s number left and right. It’s not like they’d been “dating” or just hooking up for a year and a half and Gavin suddenly realized he knew very little about a guy he’d almost said “I love you” to a half dozen times.  
  
“If I’m so shit,” Gavin had yelled back, “then why the fuck did you stick around?”  
  
Frank grinned. “Because it was funny to date a detective who couldn’t figure things out because he was too blinded by some hot cock.”  
  
Frank had said he’d still come by - they had a good thing going. Gavin said to never come back. And he’d had the locks on his place changed. He blocked Frank’s calls and buried himself even more in work.  
  
Hookup apps hadn’t been helpful, and he’d been too busy to go to bars. It was random chance that Gavin had passed The Blood Palace that night, feeling lost and in need of something after Fowler had ordered him to take the night off. Elijah gave him an open invitation years ago, and Gavin had never taken him up on it. That night, out of curiosity, Gavin tried to get in and discovered he had an unlimited account on the house. So he’d ordered a drink and had been getting the courage to try and see if Elijah was free to talk to him when Nathan walked up.  
  
And it was nice to feel wanted. Even if all these men didn’t really care about him, it was nice. The same way it had worked in the past when he used to bet 50-50 people actually wanted to hookup or they just wanted to pull his leg. He’s expected Nathan to walk out a dozen times. Gavin was embarrassed over how he’d acted. He certainly couldn’t see someone sticking around for that. But Nathan had.  
  
The date was... was a requirement. He didn’t want any more Franks. He refused to be someone else’s dirty secret. And he was going to get to know whoever got near him. So now he knew more about Nathan’s brother, and Nathan’s brother’s boyfriend. Hank. Gavin knew Hank – he worked at the same station Gavin did. Had a crush on him ages ago. He knew the guy was a vampire, but hadn’t known just how old he was. Gavin hoped Nathan hadn’t talked to Hank about him yet. Because things would probably be over if he did. Hank disliked Gavin - thought he was brash and arrogant. And Hank was right. Gavin was that way because… because so many reasons, maybe. He could never settle on one or two. He’d thought the attitude might lower the chances of another of any of the assholes who'd joke asked him out in high school and college, or Frank 2.0.Those guys always walked up being all nice and friendly before they stabbed you in the back. He refused to let it happen again.

But Gavin had been trying to be better lately, hadn’t he? He'd tried to be a bit more cordial. Stayed out of Hank’s way and focused on his work. Tried not to ruffle feathers. Tried to make sure that it wasn’t his work that was suffering. He was still a good detective. So he’d been blindsided by a random accountant with pretty eyes and a nice skill at flirting, who made Gavin think his string of bad dating was over. So what? Gavin was still good at his job.

Wasn’t he?  
  
Gavin had looked Nathan up, and his resume seemed solid. He had a large network of people on various sites. He happily talked about anything Gavin couldn’t find. Pulled up pictures of his school yearbook on his phone while they were on the hay ride and waiting in line.  
  
Gavin hadn’t talked about Frank yet. He was afraid to. Worried Nathan would say he should have figured it out. There were a thousand ways to track someone online and Gavin hadn’t tried any of them with Frank before seeing the ring. They’d met at a bar, and Frank said he wasn’t into social media. Didn’t like taking pictures. He didn’t hate tech, he just didn’t feel photogenic. Which made sense, given he would be concerned if a photo of him romantically with someone who wasn’t his wife might be very bad.  
  
“So what’s happening with your friend?” Nathan asked as they were driving back and Gavin just wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor of his apartment.  
  
Gavin swallowed. He could redirect. Surely Nathan would find this boring, no matter what he’d said while high off of eating the previous time they were together.  
  
“She’s... busy. Got a new girlfriend. New job. Makes sense. To just focus on that.”  
  
“But you want her to make time for you?”

“I mean it’s… she’s just busy. She has a life.”

“You miss her, though.”

Gavin swallowed. “We’re in a rough place. I’ve been busy with work. She’s focusing on all her stuff. I… I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.”

Gavin grumbled as he woke up and saw Nathan blink his eyes open and smile up at him.

“How was your nap?” Nathan asked. “You were out for a few hours.”

It hurt, in a way, how attentive Nathan was. It didn’t seem real. It had to be fake. Sure, maybe Gavin was just a convenient food supply, but there were plenty of other humans out there that Nathan could feed on if he really didn’t want to pay for thirium - the cheap blood substitute witches had invented so that vampires didn't need to feed on humans. Nathan was attractive and could be suave when he wanted to be. Sometimes.

Gavin yawned and sat up. “It was okay.” His phone buzzed and he reached over to pick it up. He grimaced, then looked up at Nathan apologetically. “I gotta go in.”

“Emergency?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry it was on your day off.”

“Naw it’s… I’m sorry. Wish I’d stayed awake for more of this. Feel like I slept through most of it.”

“You’re cute when you sleep, though,” Nathan said with a grin. He stood up and shook himself out before grabbing his coat and heading to the door. He paused and looked back. “I’d love to do this again. Not necessarily the corn maze, but you know… something.”

Gavin swallowed. “I… yeah. Same.”

Nathan walked back and leaned down to kiss Gavin’s forehead. “Thank you for today.”

Gavin snorted. “Yeah, thank you.”

Nathan smiled and left.

Gavin sighed and pushed himself up, ready to go to work. Things had gone well during the day, hadn’t they? It hadn’t just been about sex. They’d had fun. There had been good food. Nathan seemed into him.

Frank had seemed into him, too, though.

* * *

Gavin sighed as he settled at his desk. Someone had called out sick, and Gavin had said he was ready to come in as needed. And he was.

“…Why the fuck do you smell like Nathan?”

Gavin frowned and turned in his chair to see Hank glaring down at him.

“…Did you just smell me?”

“Hard not to, when you smell that bad.”

“Fuck off. And stop smelling me, you don’t want your nose clogged up.”

Hank snorted. “Seriously, why do you smell like Nathan? You run into him?”

“Maybe I did. The fuck’s it your business?”

“He’s a vampire. You’re not.”

“So? I hear your boyfriend used to _not_ be a vampire.”

Hank’s eyes _glittered_. “Are you threatening Connor?”

“No, I… Where is this coming from?”

Hank leaned in. “I know you, Reed. You better not hurt Nathan. If you do, I will find you, and I will _end_ you.”

“You fucking threatening me?”

Hank shrugged and backed off. “I care about Nathan as a brother. I don’t want him hurt because you can’t handle your dick.”

“Like you’d know anything about my private life, asshole.”

“I know you used to go through fuckbuddies like crazy. Nathan wants someone to be with. He’s wanted that for a while, even if he’s stuck to the hook-up scene for a bit. Don’t mess with him just for another notch on your belt.”

“Glad to know you have such a high opinion of me, asshole. Nathan’s a big boy, he can take care of himself. Fuck off.” Gavin turned back to his work.

Hank scoffed and walked away.

Gavin shortly fled to the bathroom to hide his shaking. He wasn’t scared of Hank, not really. But… really? Is that who Gavin was? Someone who just used people and brushed them aside? That’s how he used to be, maybe, mostly because he was pretty bad at picking people... but he’d gotten better while he was with… Frank. And there hadn’t been anyone since. Except for Nathan. So maybe he played up the player persona before to hide how much it hurt to just be a hookup magnet when he could get any.

Oh poor him, plenty of dick and no one to stick around after. No one wanted to hear that.

Gavin clutched his hair. Was he ready for someone yet? Maybe he wasn’t. Maybe Hank was his wake-up call. Gavin had been focused on so much _besides_ Nathan. Maybe he still needed to wait longer before moving on. Before trying something else.

It hurt. In that place that Gavin knew Nathan was carving himself into in Gavin’s heart. Gavin had barely known the guy, but he liked him. Had shared a lot of intimate stuff with him. Nathan was sweet and corny and sexy and Gavin wanted more time with him.

But Hank was right. Gavin shouldn’t mess with him. Gavin was always someone’s joke or their mistake, and Gavin couldn’t let that happen with Nathan. He pulled out his phone and swallowed as he typed out, _I think we should take a_ _break. _

After he hit send he pushed the phone into his pocket and cradled his head, wishing he would stop shaking.


	3. It Works

Nathan stared at the text and forced himself _not_ to go out and find Gavin when Gavin refused to answer Nathan’s four phone calls. The last two went straight to voicemail.

Nathan had made the first call on instinct, then texted, when that didn’t go through. Maybe he was overthinking it. Maybe he was reading too much into it—but he knew what that sentence meant. They’d met _twice_, once for sort of sex, then for a real date. A date that Nathan had questioned the disastrousness of.

And so he was right, maybe. That it hadn’t gone well.

Was he?

But he needed to know. And Gavin _refused to answer his damn phone_. He set the phone carefully down and moved to punch his hand into a giant bean bag chair that Connor gave him as a joke. Nathan carefully measured his breathing. It had taken years to work on his anger management, and it was a _daily_ struggle.

So he took stock of the situation. Laid it out. Lists. Facts. Those always helped calm him down. If a thing was in a list, it was less terrifying. It could be checked off individual as it was dealt with. And once you cut down your list of things dealt with, tossed out what truly couldn’t be dealt with, then you knew what to do from what was left.

So he thought over the date with Gavin in detail. Thought through everything he’d done and observed. A few things stuck out.

  1. Gavin had enjoyed most of the date.
  2. Gavin had enjoyed making out after the date.
  3. They had not spoken after that.
  4. Gavin had issues with intimacy.
  5. Gavin had bad experience(s) with past partners unknown.
  6. Gavin was going through a lot of things in his life, and adding another thing to it was a lot.

Nathan had reached out. Had tried to give Gavin space. Had let Gavin talk. Had comforted. Had left when he felt he was being overbearing. Hadn’t bugged Gavin at work. So really, Nathan couldn’t think of what _he’d_ done. He didn’t want to blame Gavin for this, but he couldn’t think of anything to make up for that he hadn’t gone over a dozen times already.

He’d sent a half dozen texts. A number of hours apart, each. Trying not to be too creepy. He knew going to Gavin’s place would be a disaster, but still. …But he wasn’t going to be a stalker. It was all Gavin’s choice to end things, after all. Nathan had kept that open from the beginning, of course, but also just… Nathan knew he could come on strong. Doubtless that had happened. Any number of ways. Certainly after two times together and Nathan was stressing out this much was too much, right?

Nathan couldn’t bring himself to go back to the Blood Palace initially, feeling uncomfortable. But then he realized maybe Gavin would show up there, and so Nathan spent a lot of his time there. Even taking his computer with him to work in one of the darker booths.

Nothing.

A week, then two, and nothing.

Nathan was sitting at his booth, glaring at the bar, when Hank sat nearby and said, “Yo, you glare any harder and the thing will actually light on fire.”

Nathan snorted. “Vampires can’t do that.”

“I don’t know. The heat of that glare, you never know.”

Connor wandered over and settled himself in Hank’s lap, smiling kindly over at Nathan. “You’ve been really down lately, Nathan. What’s wrong?”

Nathan hadn’t told Connor about Gavin yet because it hadn’t gotten far enough to seem worthwhile. Now it just seemed… well… What could it hurt? Nathan sighed and said, “I met someone here a short while back, and things seemed to be going well… but he texted me a short while ago saying “I think we should take a break” and he hasn’t replied to any of my attempts to contact him.”

“Oh Nathan that’s awful. I’m sorry.”

“I just… want to know why. He seemed… I mean wounded, yeah, but we had fun. I don’t know what I did wrong. We talked about big things, I think. It sounded like we’d be going beyond what we did.”

“There’s plenty of terrible people out there who just fuck off for no reason,” Connor said.

“He didn’t seem like one of those,” Nathan said. “I know he was into me. He has… major self-esteem issues, but… I thought I’d made it clear I just wanted him. It’s hard, though. I guess maybe I wasn’t clear…?”

“Take it from me,” Connor said. “That’s a never-ending battle.”

Nathan looked at him and saw Connor kissing Hank’s neck. Hank rubbed Connor’s shoulders, but his smile seemed… odd. Then Nathan recalled—

“Hank you’re a cop right? Do you know a Gavin Reed? I don’t know which precinct he works for.” Hadn’t researched it. Didn’t want to be stalkery.

Hank’s expression darkened. “…Yeah. He works for my precinct.”

“Wait you know him??” Nathan said, leaning forward, his expression brightening. “What—how is he? Did something happen?”

“…Not that I know of.”

Nathan deflated a bit at that. But what he also noticed was Hank’s weird reaction. Nathan frowned. “What does that mean?”

“It means I don’t know.”

“You are acting super shady right now, Hank, which is weird because I know you’re at least a half-decent cop.”

“Oh fuck you too, Nathan.”

“Hank you’re hiding something,” Connor said. “What?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Love, don’t try to hide stuff from me.” Connor was smiling, his eyes nearly glittering as he looked back at Hank’s frowny face. “You’re _bad_ at it, and we both know that.”

Hank rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Gavin’s an asshole I work with. Been a little prick ever since he first joined up. He’s bad news.”

“Bad news how?” Nathan asked.

“He just is, okay? I’ve known him for years. I’m his boss. Well… sort of.”

“I’d like more than that as a character evaluation.”

“Well he’s… arrogant. Rude.”

“To you? Who’d have guessed?”

“Fuck off.” Hank pushed Connor away and stood up. “I don’t have to deal with this.”

“If he’s just an arrogant coworker you don’t like, why do you care if I date him?” Nathan asked.

“You deserve better than that.”

Nathan blinked. “Well… thanks, but I’ll make that call myself. And someone being an asshole can’t be what’s got you acting like you’re hiding some heinous crime.”

Hank crossed his arms and looked away. “Well… maybe I talked with him. Told him to… fuck off. Hanging around you.”

“…What the fuck?”

“He’s got a bad history with dates, okay?” Hank said. “I’ve known tons of people like him. They just want a belt of conquests, not a relationship—”

“And so what, you thought it would be best for _you_ to decide who I spend time with?”

“Well… No. But…” Hank swallowed. “It was a dick move. I shouldn’t try to control your life like that. I just… I don’t want you hurt by someone like that, Nathan.”

“I’ll be on the lookout, thanks,” Nathan said, glaring now. “But I think you need to make sure to stay out of my life in the future.”

Hank swallowed.

“I am… really pissed off right now,” Nathan said. He stood up and walked out of the booth.

“Yeah I… Nathan, wait.”

Nathan paused, not turning back to him.

Hank stepped up to him. “Look, I… If you check some of the local bars, you’ll probably find him. He smells a lot like alcohol these days.” He scratched his neck. “I noticed he was getting a bit… quieter, but well… he’s like that sometimes, so. You know.”

Nathan snorted and walked off.

* * *

Nathan started from the precinct where Hank worked. It was hard, but after drinking Gavin’s blood, he could find the scent of him, even hours later. Nathan shortly enough found the trail and wandered after it. He followed it to nearby bars, and finally found one with the clear scent of him.

Nathan swallowed outside the door. Good intentions or not, maybe Gavin’s decision had nothing to do with Hank.

But Nathan had to know. He was too desperate. He walked into the bar.

What he found was Gavin sitting at the counter, nursing a glass of something, looking at a taller relatively attractive man, who was practically entwined around Gavin, rubbing Gavin’s lower back and grinning as he talked. Gavin swayed slightly on the stool, which let the stranger hold him closer. The place stank of alcohol.

Nathan walked up and was close enough to see that Gavin was almost entirely out of it. Nathan stepped in and put on a voice, “Honey, here you are. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”

Gavin’s new “companion” looked up with a glare. Gavin looked over his shoulder at Nathan and smiled. “He-eey… you…” Gavin wasn’t quite focusing on him.

“What the fuck do you want dude?” Rando demanded. “We’re busy.”

“You’re going to back the fuck off,” Nathan said. “And take your hands off of him, before I turn you into tiny pieces for trying to assault someone who clearly is in no state to consent.” Nathan had a few inches on Rando, and clearly Rando noticed.

The man snorted and let go of Gavin. “Fucking fine.” He stepped away as Nathan pulled Gavin up from the bench, dropped some cash on the counter, and then dragged Gavin out.

* * *

Gavin groaned as he got up and pushed himself off the bed. But… the bathroom wasn’t in the right place. Actually… his room wasn’t in the right place. He blinked, confused.

“Hey, you’re awake.”

Gavin turned to see Nathan getting up and stretching from a nearby chair. Nathan smiled at him. “How do you feel? I can drive you back to your place now that you’re awake.”

“How… what the fuck did you fucking kidnap me?” Gavin scrabbled backwards, regretting leaving his sidearm at work.

“Well… uh. You were pretty wasted last night and someone was about to take advantage, so I took you home. I don’t have a key to your place so I couldn’t exactly get in, and I don’t know any of your friends, so…”

“Last night? How the… how did you find me?” He didn’t remember seeing Nathan at the bar, from what he could remember. He would have remembered.

“You can use the bathroom, by the way. It… will probably help.”

Gavin swallowed and when Nathan pointed, Gavin took the hint. He locked the door. The bathroom looked normal enough. Spotless, of course. Tastefully decorated, like a generic bathroom. The towels were covered in blue polka dots. Gavin tried not to look at his face too much in the mirror, but well… he did look a mess.

Good thing he didn’t have to make a good impression, apparently. He was trying _not_ to think about Nathan dragging his drunk ass home from a bar where he’d been trying to pick someone up, maybe. And the alcohol had been to boost his confidence. And maybe he’d gone a little heavy when he’d realized how badly he was crashing and burning with every conversation. He didn’t remember much after someone had rolled their eyes at him and walked off.

He splashed some water on his face, cleaned his hands for a second time, and then walked out. Nathan was adjusting the blinds. The bed was made. The bedroom looked pretty nice, all things considered. Lots of random, comfortable pillows. A nightstand with a desk lamp and clock on it, as well as what looked like a model of R2D2 for some reason. There were some photographs on the dresser, and the wood of the furniture was light and warm. The bedspread was a photograph of a sunrise and stars in the desert.

Nathan smiled at him. “Feeling better?”

“…I’d like to go home.”

“Sure!” Nathan walked to the door and led the way out. The main room was also neat. It made Gavin feel even more uncomfortable. Nathan just seemed so well put-together. Everything in perfect order and beautiful. And here was Gavin, not even showered, probably smelling like alcohol and seedy bar, unwashed mouth, grimy. He followed Nathan out of the apartment, which he also noticed was way nicer than what Gavin could afford.

Once they were in the car and Gavin was glaring out the window, Nathan started the car and headed out of the parking garage.

“So…” Nathan began. “I hear Hank talked to you. About us.”

Gavin swallowed. “…Yeah.”

“Whatever he told you was probably full of shit, you know.”

Gavin huffed. “Yeah, sure.”

“Gavin, did I do something?”

“No.” Gavin scratched his neck. “You… you’re fine. You’re great.”

Nathan dropped the conversation until they parked at Gavin’s. Gavin got out of the car and Nathan followed. Gavin stopped and looked at him. “I’m not… I don’t want you in my place.”

“Look, I shouldn’t have gone looking for you last night. It was rude. I just… I just wanted to see you again.”

“Oh yeah, nothing bad ever came of that thought.”

“Would you at least tell me why you broke things off between us?”

Gavin swallowed and hugged himself. “I… I’m just not in a great place right now, okay? I shouldn’t be… dating people.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

“Do you need help? Like… I’d be happy to support you if you want it. Just someone to talk to, maybe?”

“No, it’s… it’s fine, Nathan. Thanks for offering.”

Nathan sighed. “Gavin, why do you think you shouldn’t be dating people?”

“I just… I shouldn’t. I’m not a nice person, Nathan.”

“You could have fooled me.”

“Maybe I have!” Gavin swallowed when he realized he’d shouted. He glanced around in and alarm and wrapped his arms even tighter around himself. “Maybe I _have,_ okay?”

“What are you talking about?”

“What do you even know about me?” Gavin demanded.

“You’re… you’re a cop. You live on your own. You want a cat, even though you don’t have one. You have a brother you don’t get along with. A friend who’s got a new girlfriend. Hank’s your coworker. You’re funny and smart and snarky and handsome, and—”

“Stop it!” Gavin said, walking a short distance away. “Just stop…”

“Gavin, I like you. I want to date you.” Nathan stepped forward, careful. “But I don’t want to hurt you and I need you to tell me how to do that.”

Gavin’s fingers dug into his sleeves. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Nathan blinked. “Why do you think you’ll hurt me?”

“Because it’s what I do! Never had a solid relationship until my last boyfriend because of it and then I thought I had it made but it turns out Frank was just getting off on how I was a cop and he was tricking me and—” Gavin swallowed and felt his face burn. He was suddenly aware that he was out in public, anyone could be looking and listening. “And it’s funny, right? The asshole detective who can’t figure out that only a cheating asshat would be into him?”

Arms went around him, turning him around and pulling him tight against a solid chest. Gavin pressed his face against Nathan’s shirt and realized he was shaking.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you,” Nathan said, quietly.

Gavin didn’t have a reply. He swallowed and closed his eyes. His nasty breath was probably somehow getting into Nathan’s face. Probably made this all worse, particularly with the tears soaking up Nathan’s shirt.

“That doesn’t mean you’ll hurt me. That had nothing to do with you. Whoever ‘Frank’ is, is an asshole. And you deserve better than that.”

Gavin laughed. “Do I?”

“Yes.”

“And that’s you, right?”

“If you want it to be. I’d like it to be.”

Gavin slowly peeled his arms away from himself and wrapped them around Nathan. “…I really want it to be.”

Nathan swallowed. “Good. That’s… that’s great.” He squeezed Gavin a little tighter.

Gavin breathed in deeply and quietly said, “I’m sorry. For… for breaking things off. Like that.”

“It’s okay. I mean it sucked but… it’s okay, all right?” Nathan huffed a laugh. “Just don’t do it again, at least any time soon.”

Gavin snorted. “Yeah. I’ll try not to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adding an extra chapter after this. Thought we'd get more lore this chapter but that didn't end up happening (I swear there are actual witches in this universe). And of course Elijah hasn't shown up yet and we can't end like that, can we?


	4. The Thing I'm Looking For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from "Please Don't Say You Love Me" by Gabrielle Aplin
> 
> (don't worry nothing bad happens in the chapter, it's kind of just a mood)

Tina stood up to stretch and grab a drink while Gavin and Nathan looked their bond marks over. Now other members of the club would know Gavin was taken, and it was a sort of way for the pair of them to find each other. The mark was a blue circle imprinted like a tattoo on the skin over their left lungs. People at the club couldn’t _see_ it through fabric, but the idea was that you didn’t have to. Even through alcohol or drugs it would give off a general aura to anyone in the club but Nathan to stay away. The spell only worked within the club, so it wasn’t an issue normally.

Gavin was grateful Nathan was there. Not just because getting the mark was odd, but also because it meant that Tina giving him a weird look once she’d realized who she had to work on was all they’d gotten through. No awkward conversations or anything. It was definitely tense in the workroom, but that was all.

They both pulled their shirts back on, covering up the matching marks.

Tina stopped Gavin before they headed out. She looked at Nathan. “Give us a second.”

Nathan frowned and looked at Gavin, who hesitated and said, “Yeah it’s okay, babe. I’ll be there in a sec.”

When Nathan was gone, Tina let go of Gavin’s arm and said, “So this is new.”

“...Yeah.”

“You didn’t tell me you were seeing someone.” It was still odd for Gavin to see Tina out of her work uniform when she was, well… _working_. She’d left the DPD rather recently, and she seemed right at home here. She wore a nice blouse and jeans, her workroom looked nice and pretty well stocked, and she smiled more easily. It had hurt when she’d left. Even though she’d explained that she just didn’t feel like police work wasn’t the right fit for her, it had felt like a rejection of their partnership. Their friendship. On top of everything else, it wasn’t great.

Gavin knew he was reading too much into it, really. He wanted her to be happy. He did. And he was going to be better.

“What, are you my mother now?” So taking the sharpness out of his tone hadn’t exactly worked well, at all.

Tina rolled her eyes. “Dude, I gave you like second-to-second details on Mary and I until you got sick of it, and we’re always dishing about hookups. Why keep this one secret?”

“Well I didn’t think it would go anywhere, really,” Gavin replied. “I mean I figured since I’m... me.”

Tina sighed. “Well clearly he saw past that and now you’re getting a magical tattoo for him.”

“Yeah it was... it was kind of fast, I guess.”

Tina frowned. “...Too fast? Do you want to end it?”

“No!” Gavin replied. He coughed nervously when she raised an eyebrow at him. “No I’m happy. I’m very happy. Nathan makes me happy.”

Tina smiled. “Well that’s good. But you haven’t answered my question. Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

“I didn’t think you’d care. And I didn’t hate when you told me about you and Mary. I was jealous. That’s all.”

“Aww Gav.” Tina reached out and pulled him into a hug. “Of course I care! Why did you think I wouldn’t?”

“You’ve been... busy with Mary. And then you left the DPD to work for... and you just don’t respond when I message you most of the time.”

“That didn’t mean I was ending our friendship. And you barely ever message me.”

“Because you stopped responding and I didn’t want to harass you!” Gavin pulled away and walked over to the door.

“...I’m sorry, Gavin.”

Gavin didn’t say anything for a while. Then, “I don’t want an apology. I want my friend back. But if you don’t want...”

“I want to stay your friend,” Tina replied, walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t look at her. “You matter to me. A lot. And you never harassed me. I think I got distracted by all the stuff with Mary and the new job and everything. It’s not an excuse. I am sorry.”

“...Okay.”

“Friends again?”

“...Yeah. Sorry I kind of… went off.”

Tina smiled and hugged him, and Gavin hugged her back, trying not to be too tight.

They pulled apart and Tina opened the door, to reveal Nathan standing outside and watching them both warily. Tina raised an eyebrow at him and said, “Just so you know, you hurt him, and I’ll murder you. And I know how to make it painful.”

“Noted. Gavin’s a cop, though.”

“Yeah but I’ve got blackmail on him.” She patted Gavin’s shoulder. “Otherwise we should have a movie night so this is less awkward. I can bring Mary.”

“If Gavin’s okay with it,” Nathan said.

“Yeah that’d be... cool,” Gavin replied, awkwardly, thinking about navigating his boyfriend and his best friend in one place. Let alone Mary, whom he’d barely met.

Tina blinked, looked away, then said, “Oh, Gavin, looks like the boss wants a word.”

Gavin raised an eyebrow, even as he felt butterflies in his stomach. “He kicking me out?”

“Wouldn’t say. Just wanted to speak with you now that you’re done here.”

“It is _very_ disturbing that he can contact you like that.”

“Hey, don’t knock telepathy till you tried it. And he only does it when I let him. Not like he’s watching and listening all the time. I’ll murder him if he tried.”

“You’re quite terrifying,” Nathan commented. “I think I like you.”

Tina grinned and waved at them both before going back into her workroom and shutting the door.

“You know Elijah?” Nathan asked.

“I…” Gavin started. He swallowed. “It’s… Well… He’s my half-brother.”

“…You’re kidding.”

“No.”

Nathan blinked. And then blinked again. “Huh.”

“…Yeah.”

“You said you don’t have a good relationship with him. Are you sure you want to see him? We don’t have to.”

Gavin swallowed. He’d been expecting Nathan to dig more. It was nice that he… that he was just being supportive. Gavin worried if he was relying on that too much. If Nathan would get tired of always being the support and not… just there. “I mean we’ve been texting. It’s… It’s rough, but we’re not fighting. It’s definitely a step up from the usual… whatever it is we have. Not even at non-relationship level, really.”

“Okay. I’ll come with you, if you want. I didn’t mean to make it sound like you didn’t have a choice.”

“…I think I’d like to have someone at my back. I lose what little sense I have when I’m alone with him.”

“So I’ll keep you grounded?” Nathan teased.

Gavin swallowed and blushed a little. Nathan wanted to cover him in kisses just for that, but they were in a random hallway at the back of the club. Better places and times and all that.

“Yeah,” Gavin replied.

“Okay.” Nathan took his hand, and they walked back towards the upper part of the club.

* * *

Elijah’s apartment at the Blood Palace was luxurious and clearly some kind of extra sex haven. Silk-covered beds, pillows, toys of various shapes, sizes, and uses, and a plethora of equipment was scattered invitingly around the area. Mood lighting. But for once, the place was empty of the usual orgy.

Gavin was nervous. Nathan could practically _smell_ it. He squeezed Gavin’s hand for support. Gavin squeezed back, which Nathan took as a good sign.

A door in the back of the room opened and Elijah stepped out wearing somewhat decent clothes for once. At least to Nathan’s perception. He seldom saw the man when he wasn’t almost entirely nude.

Chloe, the head of Elijah’s coven, stayed at his side.

“Gavin… and Nathan?” Elijah cocked his head thoughtfully at Nathan.

“Hello Elijah,” Nathan said.

Elijah turned to Gavin and smiled. “So… You and Nathan? That’s good. Nathan’s a good man.”

“Yeah,” Gavin said. He looked at Chloe. “You’re still together? That’s good.”

“It’s nice to see you again, Gavin,” Chloe said, quietly.

“Nice to see you too, Chloe,” Gavin replied, smiling slightly.

“The invitation to join the coven is still open,” Chloe added. “You’d be welcome here. Tina’s talked about your skills.”

Gavin scratched his neck. “I’ll… keep that in mind. I like where I am right now, still.”

“Okay.”

“Shall we sit?” Elijah offered, gesturing to a lounge area. His eyes stayed on Gavin the entire time, and his expression was unreadable. Nathan thought maybe… Elijah was as nervous as Gavin. It was hard to tell.

“Sure,” Gavin said. He looked at Nathan, who squeezed his elbow encouragingly.

* * *

“That wasn’t completely terrible,” Gavin said later as they sat together on Nathan’s couch. Nathan had the curtains drawn to let in the sunlight and had turned on some relaxing music. He even pulled out some potpourri for ambiance or something. Or maybe to be extra calming, Gavin didn’t know. “Sorry for blindsiding you with it.” He leaned on Nathan’s shoulder.

Nathan wrapped an arm around him. “It’s all right,” Nathan replied. “I believe you were just as blindsided. Are you all right?”

“I think so. I didn’t… He took things well. I wasn’t kind when we parted ways. I just… When we last saw each other… We always fight when we’re around each other. I don’t know what it is. It’s like he wants to show off and I have to prove I’m not a useless idiot and it just… escalates or devolves from there.”

“You’re not an idiot.”

Gavin chuckled. “Yeah, that’s what my therapist says.”

“They sound wise.” He looked at the ceiling for a moment. “So… Chloe offered you a spot in her coven. That’s… cool.”

“Yeah it… She offered ages ago. It wouldn’t necessarily be doing work for Elijah, but it would still sort of be? I don’t know. I’m not as well-versed in a lot of the typical skills you’d need for that job. My work’s good enough for the DPD. Finding people, traces, that sort of thing. But manipulating anatomy, messing with people’s heads, mixing potions and that stuff… I never really got into it.”

“Did you want to?”

“I mean I have Tina for the stuff I need but can’t do on my own… And I used to think I just wasn’t smart enough to do it. Now… I just feel exhausted thinking about it. Elijah wanted me to start a coven, but I was nervous about taking charge like that.” He laughed. “Look at me. I want a promotion to Captain some day, and I can’t even take the chance to be in charge of a coven. But I don’t know… It’s just… I don’t really want to.”

“Sometimes what we want doesn’t really make sense,” Nathan replied. “I’m happy to try and help you figure it out, though.”

Gavin smiled, then lightly touched the spot on his chest where his new mark rested. “How much did these cost, anyway?”

Nathan laughed. “A lot, actually. But don’t worry about it. Hank paid for it.”

“…What?” Gavin sat up in alarm and Nathan pulled him over, manhandling him until Nathan was on his back and Gavin was lying on his chest.

“It’s… sort of his apology. For talking to you like he did.”

Gavin scoffed, “He could have just said something.”

“Does it bother you that much?”

“It’s just… weird, knowing my boss knows that I have… this.”

Nathan grinned. “He and Connor frequent the club a lot. It’s not like they don’t know what they are. Besides, he doesn’t exactly know _what_ he paid for. It’s more like he gave me some money and told me to get you something. He’s not the best at presents or apologies. Unless it’s my brother and then it’s usually sex or lingerie or something.”

“Nathan, did you miss the part where I do not need to know more about my boss’ sex life?”

Nathan laughed. “Sorry.”

Gavin put his head down on Nathan’s chest, while Nathan pet his hair. Gavin rubbed the spot on Nathan’s chest where the mark was. “I’m glad we got these. Really.”

“Me too.”

“I like… I like being connected to you like this. It’s different. I never… No one ever wanted that with me. I mean I’ve never been involved with vampires before, and these marks are a level of their own, but…”

“It’s a kind of intimate connection that’s hard to get somewhere else,” Nathan replied. “I’ve never had it in a relationship, either. I’ve had lovers over the years, but they moved on or it never got that serious.”

“So you think we’re serious now?”

“As serious as anything.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Maybe I’m an idiot.”

“You fucking are and I fucking love it, you goof.” Gavin leaned forward to kiss him.

Nathan chuckled against him. “I love that you love that.”

Gavin pulled back to smile at Nathan, and Nathan drank it in. How happy Gavin looked. The day had been a bit rough, but he’d weathered it. Nathan looked forward to weathering a lot more with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately this was not as lore-heavy as I wanted. I'm just worried if I wait until I can put that into the story, this will never get out. But here we are! Thank you so much for reading!!!


End file.
